The tomato is one of the most widely consumed products on the planet. Along with many other vegetables, the tomato is a fundamental pillar of the Mediterranean diet, despite the fact that its origin is thousands of kilometres away, in an area close to the Andes, where it is believed to have been cultivated by the Aztec civilisations in Mexico.
The arrival of the tomato in Europe did not take place until the discovery of America, when it also reached Spain.
Nowadays, tomatoes form part of an infinite number of recipes and combinations, as well as different ways of consuming them, whether fresh, or in the form of purée, juice or roasted.
Why is tomato a food that should not be missing in our diet?
As you know, in order to maintain a balanced diet, it is essential that vegetables and fruit are not missing every day.
Tomatoes are one of the most nutritious foods we can find thanks to their high percentage of both vitamin C and folate, as well as being a very important source of lycopene. Moreover, their antioxidant properties are related to the prevention of certain cancers such as prostate cancer.
Apart from this, we are dealing with a food whose energy content is relatively low due to the fact that it is mostly made up of water. On the other hand, tomatoes stand out for their high fibre content, minerals such as potassium and selenium, as well as a large amount of vitamins, including vitamins C, E and some of the B group.
What are the health benefits of natural tomatoes?
Tomatoes are one of the most widely used ingredients in the world. Let's not only think about the ways of consuming it that we mentioned at the beginning of the article. Tomato is the base of many recipes, whether in stir-fry, as a base for broths and stews, for rice dishes such as paella, or even, if we think of pasta or pizza, it is difficult to imagine either of them without tomato.
In addition, a very good way to start the day by integrating a certain amount of vegetables into our days is to use grated tomato, for example, in our breakfast.
If we talk about the benefits of tomatoes, and we are talking about natural tomatoes, uncooked and without adding other products such as oil or forming part of a recipe, there are many that we can list.
In this case, the most important benefits for our health and our organism are the following:
- Tomatoes reduce the risk of stroke and slow down the ageing of brain functions.
- They are an ideal food for lowering cholesterol.
- Tomatoes have a diuretic effect.
- They help fight infections.
- They help prevent some types of cancer, such as pancreatic and prostate cancer.
- Tomato consumption promotes intestinal transit.
- Helps to protect the skin from sunlight
As you have seen, the tomato is one of the foods with the most benefits for our health, as well as being an essential element of gastronomy in many parts of the world.
At Iberiana we work directly with Spanish and Italian suppliers, and from Morocco in the case of Cherry tomatoes, so that you will always find the best varieties in season in your supermarkets.
You can consult here all the varieties of tomatoes that we distribute from Iberiana, as well as their origin and the best months for the consumption of each variety of tomatoes.
